Chinese police rescue slaves

China has rescued 31 people forced to work for a year as slaves, according to China Shanxi News.  A brickworks, run by the son of a local Communist Party official, supplied them only bread and water. They received no pay.  The factory is near Linfen in the inland province of Shanxi, China.

Eight of the workers now can only remember their names. One slave was beaten to death with a hammer for not working hard enough. All of the survivors have bruises, wounds and burns, having been made to carry uncooled bricks and walk barefoot in the kiln.

They were guarded by dogs and “thugs” at the factory. The boss was allowed to get away with the bad treatment because of his political connections. The workers are still living at the brickworks while the local government tries to get their wages.

 Millions of migrant workers from poor rural areas have flocked to urban areas to find work. They often work for as little as $2 a day or less.

 Many of these laborers work without formal contracts. They have little legal recourse in case of disputes.

 For more information, please see:

http://www.einnews.com/china/newsfeed-shanxi

www.edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/06/08/china.workers.reut/index.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6733045.stm

Twelve Hostages Released in Nigeria

By Meryl White
Impunity Watch, Africa

On June 11, twelve hostages were released in the Bayelsa state of Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta. According to the Nigerian government, three Americans, five Britons, two Indians, one Filipino and one South African were released. In addition, a local Nigerian who was captured during the raids was also released. Since January 2006, more than 200 oil workers have been kidnapped by armed militants and criminal gangs in the oil rich region. These militants want more of the oil revenues to be spent on developing infrastructure in local poverty stricken communities.

The hostages were released phsyically unharmed after the ransom was paid on their behalf by oil companies or state governments. Nevertheless, one hostage, South African Duplooy Smit, described the first three days as “hell.” Smit had been held hostage since May 25th 2007. He told to Reuters news agency that the rebels conducted a mock execution on him. Moreover, Smit feared the rebels because they “they were all high on local gin and marijuana, and carrying machine guns, so you never knew what would happen next.”

While the twelve hostages were released on “humanitarian grounds,” the militants indicated that they would continue the attacks in southern Nigeria. More than twenty-four foreigners are currently being held hostage in southern Nigeria. The main militant group, Movement for the Emancipation for the Niger Delta has given President Yar’Adua one month to find a solution to the problems of poverty and under-development that plague the Niger Delta. However, the Movement for the Emancipation for the Niger Delta did not release any hostages on Monday.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Hostages Released in Niger Delta – 12 June 2007

CNN – Report: Hostages Let Go in Nigeria – 11 June 2007

BBC – Briton’s Nigeria kidnap confirmed – 03 June 2007

CNN – Nigeria gunmen seize six foreigners – 03 June 2007

BBC – Nigeria militants offer ceasefire – 02 June 2007

Egyptian Voters Denied

Egyptian voters were denied the ability to vote in areas where the government perceived strong support for the Muslim Brotherhood. The polls were guarded by police who stopped Egyptians from voting for the opposition. This weakened the government’s assertion that the constitutional changes in March were implemented to strengthen democracy.

The voters were denied access to vote in Awseem. Police officers armed with automatic rifles blockaded the locked entrance. Voters were told that the polling places were closed, or that the election occurred the following the day. Others were physically beaten by police, and one man was killed in the election violence.

The purpose of the government’s action was to deny the Muslim Brotherhood from gaining parliamentary seats. In the past few months, over 800 of the Muslim Brotherhood have been questioned or arrested by the government. The government’s fear is that if the Muslim Brotherhood gain power then they will transform the nation into a Muslim nation with Sharia law.

These actions by the government weaken its claim that the constitutional changes in March strengthened democracy by halting the emergency powers. The changes stripped authority from the judicial branch. This has strengthened the president and the legislature. It gave the government the power to bar Egyptians from voting for the Muslim Brotherhood, because of the perceived terrorist threat.

As expected, the Muslim Brotherhood, which previously was a leading opposition party, did not win a single seat in the preliminary results.

Washington Post. Egyptian Voters Impeded in Opposition Strongholds. 12 June 2007.
Pittsburgh  Tribune-Review. Violence Spoils Egyptian elections. 12 June 2007.
Los Angeles Times. Egypt’s dissidents held down by law. 13 June 2007.
Monsters and Critics News. Egypt’s ruling party sweeps Shura election contest.13 June 2007.

Malaysia court rejects Christian conversion

In a divided two to one decision, Malaysia’s highest court refused to recognize a Muslim woman’s conversion to Christianity.  Lina Joy tried to change her religious status and remove the word Islam from her identity card to marry her Catholic fiance.  Under separate laws in Malaysia, Muslims must marry within the faith.  The abandonment of Islam is sometimes punishable by fines or imprisonment.  Here, the Islamic Sharia court rejected Ms. Joy’s appeal.

Ms. Joy, born Azlina Jailani, has lost her job, been disowned by her family, and went into hiding last year after receiving death threats.  She now may seek asylum in Australia.

Malaysia’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but declares all ethnic Malays are Muslim and thus are not allowed to convert.  In this multi-racial country, Muslims constitute sixty percent of Malaysia’s population of nearly 25 million people.  Critics say this ruling underlines the increasing separation of Muslims from others. Additionally, it reinforced the notion that Islamic laws should have primacy over secular laws in some aspects of Muslims’ lives and the question of the separation of religion and state.

For more information, please see:

–Malaysia rejects Christian appeal

–Malaysia Top Court Doesn’t Honor Muslim’s Conversion

Iran forcibly deports Afghani refugees

Since April 21, 2007, ninety thousand Afghan refugees have been forcibly removed from Iran.  As a result of Iran’s toughened stance on illegal immigrants, thousands of Afghanis, mostly men, have been arrested and put on buses to Herat, Afghanistan.  While most of the deportees were single men, almost 22,000 have been families.  Some have been separated from their spouses and children, and in some cases, some children have been deported alone.

Afghanis comprise the second largest refugee group in the world. Millions left their home during the Soviet invasion and more left Afghanistan during the Taliban regime that followed.  Since 2001 and the fall of the Taliban, 3.5 million Afghans repatriated and returned home.  The UN High Commissioner for Refugees described three ways refugees are returning from Iran.  First, voluntary repatriation; where registered refugees are given a repatriation package ($100 (US)/person or $500 (US)/family of five) to facilitate the relocation process. Second, spontaneous return; where unregistered (and therefore illegal) refugees chose to return to Afghanistan.  They are given time to gain proper certification to return.  The third method is deportation; where illegal refugees are forced to return.

Since 2002, 860,000 refugees have left Iran and returned to Afghanistan.  However, 915,000 Afghani refugees still reside in Iran. Some entered illegally.  Some entered with a visa that has now expired.  Some are legal refugees who lack the proper papers and therefore are deemed illegal by the Iranian government.

Beginning on April 21, Iran began its new two pronged strategy to decrease the number of Afghani refugees. The first prong is to provide incentives, such as repatriation packages or facilitating illegal refugees in getting the proper return papers, to encourage refugees to return.  The second prong is to crack down on illegal immigrants by arresting and deporting them. 

Iran and Pakistan are homes of largest population of Afghani refugees. Currently, Iran spends approximately $7 billion a year to support their Afghani refugee population.  While the UN agrees that Iran has the right to address the matter of illegal immigrants in their countries, but appeals that it is done in a humane manner.

For more information please see:

BBC:  “Expelled from Iran – Refugee Misery”  8 June 2007.

UNHCR:  “Return to Afghanistan”  30 May 2007.